Looking Back: Aug. 29 (3080 hits)

Published: Monday, August 29, 2011 at 3:30 a.m.

Last Modified: Sunday, August 28, 2011 at 9:22 p.m.

-A giant still, capable of producing 500 gallons of whiskey a day, was destroyed and two men were arrested. -Fayette Sheriff Travis McKinney was reprimanded by a Fayette County grand jury, charged that he was not making proper efforts to halt liquor traffic. -A well-known 63-year-old Eutaw service station operator, John D. Screwdriver Johnson, was shot and killed. -A crowd gathered at the Gordo Jail when a white man was arrested for assault and battery of a black youth at a carnival. There was no violence from the crowd, although the Gordo Police called in the State Highway Patrol and the sheriff. -As the Alabama Crimson Tide began drills, coach Paul W. Bear Bryant said, I thought the players looked real good ... but you cant look at a rabbit and tell how fast he runs. 25 years ago this week-Members of the Crimson Tide football team, headed by coach Ray Perkins, filled the pews at the funeral of Willie Ryles in Columbus, Ga. Cornelius Bennett presented a football autographed by team members to Ryles mother. Ryles died from an injury suffered during football practice. -A Northport man and Seventh-day Adventist Church member, who alleged he was fired from BFGoodrich because of his religious practices, was ordered reinstated and granted full back pay by a U.S. District Court judge. The company was ordered to assign him a shift that didnt work on Saturday. -The closing of the Stafford Inn meant some Crimson Tide fans would have to scramble to find other lodging. -Joe C. Kennedy would become the first black on the DCH Healthcare Authority board if the ordinance prepared by the city council was approved. -University of Alabama enrollment was expected to increase about 400 from the previous years 15,206 students, according to UA President Joab Thomas. -The hard work of the Sipsey Valley Volunteer Fire Department paid off for residents when the departments rating went from 10 to 6 in an assessment, saving money in fire insurance premiums for residents. 10 years ago this week-Tuscaloosa incumbent Mayor Al DuPont faced a run-off with Mark Booth when he fell just shy of 50 percent of votes. -Shelley Jones remained chair of the Tuscaloosa City Board of Education after a victory over Harold Bishop. -A new face carried the day in the race for City Council District 6 with Walter Maddox soundly defeating Clell Hobson. -A real estate agent was assaulted by a man who asked to see a house, prompting officials to issue a crime alert to real estate agents. -A grand jury returned indictments against two former Memphis high school coaches, Lynn Lang and Milton Kirk, at the center of an NCAA investigation of possible recruiting violations by UA. -Albert Means, former UA defensive lineman who transferred to Memphis in the wake of the recruiting scandal that had become the focus of the NCAA investigation, debuted with the Memphis Tigers. -Crimson Tide head coach Dennis Franchiones debut before a sell-out crowd at Bryant-Denny Stadium had a promising beginning, but in the end, Alabama lost to UCLA 20-17. Five years ago this week-It was revealed the son of fired two-year college chancellor Roy Johnson was paid $3,000 a month by an architectural firm to oversee work on a new residence hall at Lawson State Community College, the school where the son was already being paid $69,000 per year. Johnson put a beach condo, a Helena home and an Opelika home up for sale. The architectural firm that designed the Opelika home was paid more than $2.4 million for work at two-year colleges between October 2003 and September 2005. -After nearly two years of work, the addition to Bryant-Denny Stadium was completed just in time for the season opener. The 92,138 seats were sold out, and fans saw Alabama defeat Hawaii 25-17. Statues of former championship coaches were unveiled at the stadium. -Tuscaloosa businessman Stan Pate was negotiating with Alabama Baptist Retirement Centers to purchase Clara Verner Tower with promises to refurbish the senior complex. -The new PARA activity center, the Bobby Miller Activity Center, opened in Taylorville. One year ago this week-Musicians and fans gathered in the late Johnny Shines backyard in Holt to honor the memory of the blues legend. -The first organized black church in Tuscaloosa, Hunter Chapel AME Zion Church, was added to the Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage. -Joseph Van Heest was sworn in as the new public defender for Tuscaloosa County. -Running back Mark Ingram would not play in Alabamas season opener against San Jose State because of a knee injury. -Stillman College leaders eliminated about 15 jobs because student enrollment would not support them. -The voter fraud trial of Gay Nell Tinker ended when the former Hale County Circuit Court Clerk pleaded guilty to five misdemeanor counts of illegal absentee balloting. -Sheriffs deputies seized more than 400 pounds of marijuana from a woman stopped on Interstate 20/59 who was impersonating a U.S. Army recruiter. -More than 6,000 students registered at Shelton State Community College for the fall.
Compiled by news librarian Betty Slowe.